1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid-crystal display with a scanner, and more particularly to a liquid-crystal display with a scanner, which enables the achievement of a built-in scanner module that does not sacrifice the thinness of the liquid-crystal module.
2. Related Art
In a conventional liquid-crystal display with scanner, it was necessary to provide an LED light source for illumination of the manuscript, and an electroluminescent (EL) light source for use as a backlight for the LCD separately, thereby leading to an increase in the overall cost of the apparatus. With respect to this problem, as shown in FIG. 13, a scanner device which is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 3-255772, was proposed. In this scanner device, it was not necessary to provide a backlight for the display and a light source for the manuscript separately.
In the above-mentioned scanner device, as shown in FIG. 13, light which is emitted from the fluorescent tube 45 illuminates the reading point on the manuscript, this manuscript being read by an image sensor 47, via a selfoc lens array 46. Part of the scattered light from the fluorescent tube 45 is guided to the bottom part of the LCD 42 by the light-blocking member 49, and the reflector 48, thereby providing uniformed illumination over the entire lower surface of the LCD 42. That is, part of the light of the fluorescent tube 45 that illuminates the surface of the manuscript 43 is reflected by the reflector 48, and guided to the lower surface of the LCD 42, thereby acting as a backlight. By doing this, it is possible to utilize the fluorescent tube 45 as both illumination of manuscript 43 and a backlight for the LCD 42.
In an image scanner that reads an image on a manuscript, and particularly in a hand-held scanner of the past, LCDs were often used as the display device, and when this was a reflective type LCD, it was difficult to read on a display in dark locations, so that to make the display readable, a backlight was used. However, this increased the number of parts, and made the device uneconomical. With regard to this problem, the device as shown in FIG. 14 was developed. This device is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 5-260252. According to the image scanner which is shown in FIG. 14, light from a lamp (light source) 56 is collected by a lamp holder 57, the part of the collected light being introduced to a light guide member 59, via a cutout (light-guiding part) 57a, thereby illumination being made from the rear of the liquid-crystal display 60, so that a bright display is obtained on the liquid-crystal display 60, making the displayed image easy to view.
According to this type of image scanner 70, a light guide 59 is provided at the bottom side of the liquid-crystal display 60, part of the light from the light source 56 illuminating of the manuscript 71 being guided to within a light guide member 59, so that it is possible to illuminate the liquid-crystal display 60 without providing a separate illumination light source, thereby obtaining an easy-to-view display.
Another technology of the past can be described simply as follows.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 4-211558, there is disclosure of image information input/output device used in a facsimile apparatus or the like, and in particular an image information input/output device that enables integration of an image information reading apparatus and an image information writing apparatus. In this type of input/output device of the past, because an image information input section and output section are provided on the same substrate, there is no commonality between the drive circuitry for the light receiving elements, and the light guide means, so that the configuration is insufficient in terms of compactness, ease of manufacturing, and cost reduction. This device comprises a light-receiving element that receives light from a light source, a substrate which supports a light-emitting element that illuminates a photosensitive body, a first drive circuit for the light-receiving element, a second drive circuit for the light-emitting element, a first light-collecting fiber array that guides light of the light source, and a second light-collecting fiber array that guides the light of the light-emitting element, at least one pair of light-receiving and light-emitting elements being disposed next to one another, so that at least one of the first and second light-collecting fiber arrays or first and second drive circuits are shared.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 5-100645, there is disclosure of an integrated external information read-in/display apparatus for displaying information that is captured by a scanner, an image input means, or an audio input means or the like, on a display device such a flat-panel display. This information processing apparatus has a configuration in which a front display part and a rear scanner part are integrated as one, thereby achieving compactness, thinness, and light weight. Scanned information from the scanner part can be displayed on the display, and in certain cases, external image information or audio information can also be displayed on the display part.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-276363, there is disclosure of a manuscript read-in apparatus capable of use in such equipment as a facsimile apparatus, a copying machine, or a scanner or the like. In particular, this invention minimizes the number of components, and features a simple construction and low costs, while facilitating the adjustment procedure and facilitating work burden when implementing units. Particularly, in this manuscript read-in apparatus, the sensor array having a plurality of opto-electrical conversion elements is housed within a fluorescent display tube.
As shown in FIG. 15, an image sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 6-291935 is proposed. This image sensor comprises an LED array 101 which radiates illumination light 105, an image sensor substrate 102 onto which is formed a sensor element 107 having a light-guiding hole 120 shown in FIG. 2 that passes the illumination light 105 within the light-receiving surface to a manuscript 104, and a fiber array plate (FAP) 111 formed by fibers 112 that guide incident light from one surface to the other surface, these elements being disposed in the sequence corresponding to the direction of radiation of the illumination light 105. Illumination light 105 from the LED array 101 passes through the light-guiding hole 120 provided at the sensor element 107, and strikes the fibers 112, whereupon it is guided to the surface of the manuscript 104, the signal light 106 which is reflected at the surface of the manuscript 104 being guided to the photosensitive layer 117 of the sensor element 107 by the fibers 112, at which it is opto-electrically converted (refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 15).
The image sensor disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 10-173861, shown in FIG. 16, is one in which a large number of sensor elements are arranged with the same width as the manuscript, and a contact-type color sensor elements read in the images on the manuscript in intimate contact therewith.
As shown in FIG. 16, this color image sensor has the following configuration. Specifically, electrodes 218 are provided on one surface of a glass substrate 215. On the electrodes 218, a photosensitive layer 217, common electrode 216, and a color filter 219 are successively laminated, these elements being protected by a protective layer 209, thereby forming the sensor substrate 210. The light guide 212 is adhered to the protective film 209, with an adhesive layer 208 therebetween. On the glass substrate 215 side of the sensor substrate 210, a color LED array light source 202 is disposed. Light from the color LED array light source 202 is guided to the light guide 212 via the light-guide hole 207, and illuminates the manuscript 205. Light reflected on the manuscript 205 reverses direction, passing through the color filter 219, and reaches the photosensitive layer 217.
The thickness of a display used in currently available notebook type personal computers is about 4 to 5 mm. However, because of using a selfoc lens, it is not possible to achieve a short distance between the manuscript and the sensor, thereby resulting in a configuration in which the sensor part alone protrudes, this being unwieldy and unattractive from the standpoint of design.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the problems indicated in the above-noted drawbacks in the prior art, and obtain a compact, thin and light liquid-crystal display with a scanner that does not sacrifice the thinness of the liquid-crystal module.
To achieve the above-noted object the present invention has the following basic technical constitution.
Specifically, the first aspect of the present invention is a liquid-crystal display apparatus with a scanner comprising: a liquid-crystal panel used for display, an image sensor used to read an image on a manuscript, a light source illuminating the liquid-crystal panel and the manuscript, and a diffusion plate to diffuse light from the light source, disposed on a front side or a rear side of the liquid-crystal panel so as to overlap with the liquid-crystal panel, wherein the image sensor having a one-dimensional image sensor element with a light-guiding hole for passing light from the light source to a photosensitive layer, and a fiber array plate provided in contact with the one-dimensional image sensor, the light source and the image sensor being disposed at an edge portion of the diffusion plate so as to sandwich the diffusion plate.
The second aspect of the present invention is a liquid-crystal display apparatus with a scanner comprising: a liquid-crystal panel used for display, an image sensor used to read an image on a manuscript, a light source illuminating the liquid-crystal panel and the manuscript, and a diffusion plate to diffuse light from the light source, disposed on a front side or a rear side of the liquid-crystal panel so as to overlap with the liquid-crystal panel, wherein the image sensor having a one-dimensional image sensor element with a light-guiding hole for passing light from the light source to a photosensitive layer, and a fiber array plate provided in contact with the one-dimensional image sensor, the light source being disposed at an edge portion of the diffusion plate so as to be sandwiched between the diffusion plate and the image sensor.
In a third aspect of the present invention, a reflecting member is provided between the light source and the image sensor so as to guide light from the light source to the diffusion plate, the reflecting member being provided with a slit for illuminating the manuscript.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a reflecting member is provided between the light source and the image sensor so as to guide light from the light source to the diffusion plate and the manuscript selectively, the reflecting member is controlled so as to be positioned at a first position by a control means when the light source illuminates the liquid-crystal panel, and the reflecting member is controlled so as to be positioned at a second position by the control means when the light source illuminates the manuscript.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is a liquid-crystal display apparatus with a scanner comprising: a liquid-crystal panel used for display, an image sensor used to read an image on a manuscript, a light source illuminating the liquid-crystal panel and the manuscript, and a diffusion plate to diffuse light from the light source, disposed on a front side or a rear side of the liquid-crystal panel so as to overlap with the liquid-crystal panel, wherein the image sensor having a one-dimensional image sensor element with a light-guiding hole for passing light from the light source to a photosensitive layer, and a fiber array plate provided in contact with the one-dimensional image sensor, the light source being disposed at a first edge portion of the diffusion plate, the image sensor being disposed at a second edge portion of the diffusion plate, and the light source and the image sensor are positioned so as to be perpendicular to one another.
In a sixth aspect of the present invention, the liquid-crystal panel is a transmission-type liquid-crystal panel.
In a seventh aspect of the present invention, the liquid-crystal panel is a reflective-type liquid-crystal panel.
The eight aspect of the present invention is a liquid-crystal display apparatus with a scanner comprising: a liquid-crystal panel used for display, an image sensor used to read an image on a manuscript, and a light source illuminating the liquid-crystal panel and the manuscript, wherein the image sensor having a one-dimensional image sensor element with a light-guiding hole for passing light from the light source to a photosensitive layer, and a fiber array plate provided in contact with the one-dimensional image sensor, the light source is an electroluminescent (EL) type light source and the electroluminescent (EL) type light source is disposed on a rear side of the liquid-crystal panel so as to overlay with the liquid-crystal panel.